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“It was really tough for me. I needed it for closure, coach (Bryan) Harsin recommended I do it, and I totally agreed. I recruited a lot of the guys that are there. It’s sometimes very tough for me to verbalize what I’m feeling, so I had a lot of time to think about it, had to rip the Band-Aid. At the end of the day, it comes to a time and a place in your life where you need to do something like this. I felt like I needed a new challenge, to get out of my comfort zone, I ask them to do that all the time so I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t do the same.”

Why Washington?

“I wasn’t out looking for it. Every assistant has opportunities every year at Boise State. Across college football, people admire the program, respect the coaches. For me, it was like ‘if I’m ever going to do this, what better place to do it than to be with a bunch of familiar faces.’ (Coach Chris Petersen and five Washington assistants were previously at Boise State). I got over that fear of moving, thought if I’m going to do it, now’s the time. I’ve turned jobs down every year.”

You’re expecting a third child in July and seemed pretty settled.

“We just bought a lot, were in the process of building a new house on it. I’m a creature of habit, work hard to make myself and my family comfortable. We had the best setup ever here, in terms of living. It has nothing to do with Boise State whatsoever or coach Harsin. It’s a phenomenal place to live. Most of the guys on that first Washington staff plan on living here again. Sometimes you need to challenge yourself or move up. To do that, it’s meant having to leave. I told the team if I didn’t believe whole-heartedly Boise State wasn’t headed in the right direction, I wouldn’t go because it means so much to me.”

How did the process go in getting the job?

“I was surprised (Chris Strausser) was going to leave. Coach Harsin was awesome about everything, couldn’t ask for a better friend through this whole thing. We’re really good friends, consider him one of my best friends. Pete and him spoke when Strausser told him his plans, and Hars gave me the heads up. My whole world all the sudden started to change. For someone in college football as long as I have, it’s crazy I’ve never been in this situation.”

What excites you most about moving on?

“It’s a new challenge, it’s with a bunch of friends. It’s the same thing we tell the recruits, it’s about fit. We spend so many hours with the guys we work with, never in a million years would I want to work with a bunch of guys I don’t know. I don’t think living in Seattle will be like living on the moon, it’s a new adventure and I’m a guy that likes adventure.”

Why are you confident Boise State is in good hands?

“Harsin, (AD Curt) Apsey, (president Bob) Kustra. Harsin is just awesome, he’s been a great mentor, he’s allowed me to grow. The players, we’ve got a great group of guys coming back, they’re not entitled. The whole program, there’s some great kids that are there. It was tough, cleaning out my office, had Derek Schouman’s highlight film, Tommy Gallarda’s, VHS tape of some great players we were able to get over the years, it’s something we’ve always done and they’ll keep doing.”

You added a co-offensive coordinator title this year. Did co-OC’s and Harsin handle playcalling work?

“I felt like it totally worked. Anyone will sit back and see how it ended, it's easy to question stuff. That’s football, that’s being a fan. The thing I try to convey, it’s how Boise State’s always done it. When Pete was OC, everyone has their area of responsibility, come up with the game plan together. We’re very scripted, if you saw the gameplan that coaches carry out, it’ll look like Chinese to most people, but it’s so situational. If you’re on the left hash, the plus-35, there’s a call. Can those get overriden by a feel? Sure. One person might be calling most of the plays, but we all did our gameplanning. We all had plays that didn’t work, not just one of us.”